Keep Calm and Bake On
When New York shut down due to COVID-19 and our office closed its doors indefinitely, my first thought (outside of all of the actual pandemic related thoughts) was, oh my god who am I going to bake for now? This may seem silly or trivial in the grand scheme of things, but for me, baking is about more than measuring ingredients and satisfying a sweet tooth, it’s how I deal with stress and anxiety.
I’ve found over the years that while many things have changed in my life —from my hair color to my major in college— getting out a mixing bowl, wooden spoon and a warm oven still grounds me in ways I can’t explain. Before the pandemic, a typical day for me includes a workout class before heading to the New York A+P office, then a stop at the grocery store on the way home. I’d spend the evening in the kitchen, baking whatever came to mind that day (or requested by a colleague), along with a true crime show playing in the background. While to many it appears as though I don’t leave much time for relaxation in my day, the motions of whisking together dry ingredients, folding them into the wet ingredients, turning on the oven, and getting out the cooling racks, is my relaxation.
One of the things I’m most grateful for working at Allison+Partners is the support I’ve gotten to merge my worlds of baking and PR. Over the past four years at the agency, I’ve baked almost once a week for my office for birthdays, baby/wedding showers, happy hours, and often, just because I wanted to bake and knew my co-workers would appreciate it. It not only helps with stress and anxiety to bake but my favorite part of baking or cooking anything is seeing people’s faces when they enjoy it. When COVID hit and the office shut down, I was nervous that I wouldn’t be able to bake as much. It was just my parents and me at home and while we all have big sweet tooths, there’s only so much three people can eat. But I’ve been able to find ways to fold my baking into my work, even remotely.
When pitching my new client, Budweiser, we decided to make short videos to introduce ourselves and share something we’re passionate about. I was excited because it allowed me to design a cake that I’d been dying to make, a giant beer stein cake complete with a Budweiser can. Not only did the brand love it, but they posted it on their main Instagram channel. More recently, I got to do something that I’ve never done before -- teach a cupcake decorating class via zoom for one of my beauty industry clients. Beauty has always been one of my favorite industries. I have so many great friends in the beauty media, so having the chance to have all of them along with my team, as a part of that first experience for me was so special.
Having things like cupcake decorating classes for clients and being able to make fun cakes for clients that they’re excited about has been something I’m so grateful for during this time. While I’m unable to bake for all of my colleagues, I’m still able to get people excited and make people smile with baked goods, which might be the best stress reliever during these unprecedented times.
Clarissa has more than five years of experience specializing in home, beauty, lifestyle, and food/beverage. Through her work in the consumer lifestyle market, she has assisted in developing and executing national and global campaigns and media/influencer strategies. She regularly secures top-tier media in outlets, such as The Today Show, Cosmopolitan Magazine, Good Housekeeping, Foodandwine.com and Harper’s Bazaar.
Category: Consumer Brands
